FCF Gets Board, Bucks, Beginning: Foundation to Raise Bar for Charity In Fayetteville, Surrounding Areas

Since its July 22 inception, the Fayetteville Community Foundation has received its 501(c)(3) tax status, named a “Who’s Who” of prominent city leaders to its board and established the goal of raising $10 million-$20 million during its first 10 years.r

Designed to manage funds donated by individuals, families or corporations and to fulfill the donors’ charitable wishes, the nonprofit organization will give priority to philanthropic efforts in Fayetteville and its surrounding communities.r

FCF’s leaders said it will complement — not compete with — the eight major charitable foundations in Northwest Arkansas that already had a combined $1.22 billion in assets.r

“We do expect to work with the other community foundations, particularly Northwest Arkansas [Community Foundation] and Arkansas Community Foundation and complement each other,” said Hugh Kincaid, FCF’s president and senior vice president of The Bank of Fayetteville’s trust department.r

“At the end of the day, we’re all trying to raise the level of philanthropy in the community,” Kincaid said.r

Of FCF’s predecessors, the $123.5 million CommunityCare Foundation Inc. in Springdale and its $5.7 million public charity, Northwest Arkansas Community Foundation Inc., have provided the primary vehicle for nurturing donor-advised funds to benefit area philanthropies.r

CommunityCare was born of the 1998 acquisition of then-nonprofit Northwest Health System Inc. by its former owner Quorum Health Group Inc., a for-profit firm in Nashville, Tenn. Northwest Health has since been bought by Triad Health Partners Inc. of Dallas, and CommunityCare spawned NWACF in 2000.r

Because Northwest Health primarily served Springdale and Bentonville as a nonprofit, CommunityCare has focused its grant making on those cities. Of the $15.17 million CommunityCare has dolled out to local charities, 53.49 percent, or $8.13 million, has gone to Springdale entities.r

That compares to the 15.44 percent ($2.34 million) it’s given in Bentonville and 14.21 percent ($2.16 million) it has given in Fayetteville. Of NWACF’s $2.27 million in local grants, Springdale entities have gotten the most money at 38.33 percent ($869,033), followed by those in Fayetteville, which got 24.49 percent ($555,323).r

FCF board members such as John Lewis, chairman and CEO of The Bank of Fayetteville, are quick to point out that FCF is in no way trying to compete with other area foundations for money or donors. The city’s leaders simply wanted to establish a fund that would focus on Fayetteville first.r

Lewis, who’s also FCF’s co-chairman, said the generosity of area philanthropists such as the late Harvey and Bernice Jones — Springdale trucking moguls turned major benefactors of that city’s health system and a multitude of causes through the Jones Center for Families — shows that cultivating planned giving can produce incredible results.r

“We’ve already proven conclusively that this is a generous area, not only Fayetteville, but Northwest Arkansas,” said Lewis. “It all started with the generosity of the Joneses, I think. They set a great example for all of us.”r

r

FCF Developmentsr

Kincaid said so far FCF has received gifts earmarked for startup costs and salary of the foundation’s executive director from three anonymous donors. He declined to disclose the amount of the donations.r

An executive director for FCF has been hired and is expected to start full time by the end of November. The person’s name is not yet being released due to current employment obligations.r

FCF’s board expects to make $500,000-$1 million in annual grants to the community after raising its goal. It will use 5 percent of its assets as a rule of thumb, and the group hopes it can get enough funds to start making grants within a year.r

The Bank of Fayetteville will supply FCF an office in the adjacent Mrs. Young building on the downtown Fayetteville square, some computer and office equipment and a telephone line. However, Lewis emphasized that the foundation will be a stand-alone entity that’s initially incubated by the bank but not part of The Bank of Fayetteville.r

Heather Eason, executive vice president of the Arkansas Community Foundation in Little Rock, said FCF will be the fourth community foundation in Arkansas not including the 24 affiliates in her organization. There are about 600 such foundations nationwide.r

Northwest Arkansas’ largest charitable foundations range from the $366.85 million Walton Family Foundation in Bentonville to the $22.06 million Schmeiding Foundation in Springdale.r

Billie Jo Starr, co-chairman of FCF and a well-known local philanthropist and volunteer, said the creation of FCF should stimulate more giving to all charities and foundations in the area because it adds flexibility for potential donors.r

“Typically community foundations have been very, very successful in raising the bar on giving,” Starr said.r

r

Filling a Needr

The idea for FCF started in a trust committee meeting at The Bank of Fayetteville earlier this year. The committee was dealing with a client who wanted to start a private foundation.r

“It wasn’t economically feasible,” said Fred Shefte, acting executive director of FCF and senior vice president and trust officer at The Bank of Fayetteville.r

“They were only dealing with a couple of hundred thousand dollars.”r

Shefte recommended that the funds go to the local community foundation, but Shefte said he discovered Fayetteville didn’t have one of its own.r

“Fred Shefte said we need to start a Fayetteville Community Foundation,” Lewis said. “Everybody just got really excited about it, and that was the start.”r

Kincaid said FCF will benefit philanthropic-minded people who want to create a private family foundation but are reluctant to do so because of the red tape involved. He said private foundations are “are expensive to operate, burdened by complicated tax considerations and limitations.” Ever-changing laws can also complicate matters.r

With FCF, Kincaid said, a family can donate money, specify how it will be spent and receive many tax benefits while avoiding the rigors of starting their own foundation.r

“There are a host of opportunities there with different funds. It just depends on the particular donor and the sorts of things that their interest is in,” Kincaid said.r

For each fund there are many applications in which the donor may receive tax benefits or even interest income until the donor or his or her spouse dies. Kincaid said the foundation will use computer software to work with donors and their attorneys to project financial scenarios.r

Foundations such as FCF are also attractive to businesses wishing to give back to the community. The foundation takes care of all of the investing, bookkeeping, grant-reviewing and giving so a business doesn’t have to invest human resources or be responsible for giving or not giving to a specific charity, Kincaid said.r

“This is a long-term answer to a lot of situations in Fayetteville,” said Curtis Shipley, a board member of FCF.r

r

Trustworthyr

The officers and board of directors for FCF have plenty of experience with philanthropy. Kincaid is the former director for planned giving at the University of Arkansas. Lewis recently finished a six-year stint as a chairman of the board with the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. Starr is a philanthropic dynamo serving on the boards of everything from the Washington Regional Foundation and American Heart Association to the writer’s colony at Dairy Hollow and even her family’s own Starr Foundation, which funds arts and education in Arkansas.r

“This is one of the most diverse boards in Northwest Arkansas,” Kincaid said.r

He pointed out the board includes a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant, a nurse, a retired school administrator and several business leaders from Fayetteville. Lewis added that before FCF even got its bona fide tax status in October, people were already approaching him about donating money.r

“Fayetteville has a deep sense of community, and people love it and care for it,” Lewis said. “That’s the foundation of how this is going to be successful.”r

Click Here To See FCF Donor Optionsr

TAB CHARTrr

Solid Foundationrr

The following are the founding members of the Fayetteville Community Foundation:rr

Name—FCF Title —Affiliation/s r
Richard Atkinson—Director—Dean, University of Arkansas School of Lawr
Les Baledge—Director—EVP and general counsel, Tyson Foods Inc. r
Woody Bassett—Director—partner, Bassett Law Firm r
John Colbert —Director—principal, Holcomb Elementary r
Bud Edwards—Director—partner, Reach Inc. r
Willard Gatewood—Director—retired, UA professor of historyr
Ann Henry—Director—retired, UA professor of business lawr
Dr. Anthony Hui—Director—medical lab director, Washington Regional Medical Center r
Hugh Kincaid—President—SVP of Trusts, Bank of Fayetteviller
David Lashley—Director—C.P.A. r
John Lewis—Co-chair—CEO & chairman, Bank of Fayetteviller
Clark McClinton—*Director—retired, McClinton Anchor Co.r
David McClinton—Director—retired, McClinton Anchor Co. r
Hayden McIlroy—*Director—entreprenuer, active investorr
Tom Muccio—Director—president, Global Customer Teams, Procter & Gambler
Larry Olson—Director—EVP, CCO and director, Bank of Fayetteville r
Cherry Pearson—Director—board president, South Fayetteville Community Development Corp. r
Ann Rosso—Director—board member, WRMC and Bank of Fayetteville r
Mary Sanchez—Director—Hispanic education coordinator, Credit Counseling of Arkansas r
Fred Shefte—Acting Exec—SVP, Trust Officer, Bank of Fayetteville r
Curtis Shipley—Director—partner, Shipley Family L.P. r
Billie Jo Starr—Co-chair—director, WRMC Foundation & AHAr
Janice Torbett—Director—SVP and Trust Department Manager, Bank of Fayetteville r
Harry Vandergriff—Director—retired, Fayetteville School System r
Carolyn Walton—*Director—committee member, UA 21st Century Campaignr

Notes: FCF — Fayetteville Community Foundation; EVP — executive vice president; UA — University of Arkansas; WRMC — Washington Regional Medical Center; SVP — senior vice president; CCO — chief credit officer; AHA — American Heart Association. *Honorary director.r
Source: Fayetteville Community Foundation